April 26, 2007 11:14

Pete Townshend launches digital project

The Who guitarist's vision is realised after 30 years

The Who's Pete Townshend has launched a new solo project which allows computer users to create their own music.

Entitled 'Method Music - Imaginary Sitters, Imaginary Galaxies', it is a collaboration between Townshend, composer Lawrence Ball and software engineer David Snowdon that has taken over 30 years to complete.

The project allows users to create a unique musical composition, likened to a musical fingerprint that represents the user's personal identity.

It also enables the music of two or more individuals to be played simultaneously, enabling listeners to understand how music fits together.

Townshend first used the process to form the basis of the track 'Fragments' on the most recent Who album, 'Endless Wire'.

Talking about the origins of 'The Method', Townshend said: "In 1971 I wrote a film treatment called 'Lifehouse', which centred on an idea about the coming of the internet where we would share music, make music, call each other together to celebrate.

"We now have an internet and I asked Lawrence to build me a software engine that would compose such music based on what subscribers choose to share with us. I call this the 'Lifehouse Method'."

'Method Music - Imaginary Sitters, Imaginary Galaxies' is available to download on iTunes now.